30 girl students hospitalised in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow, Nov 3 (IANS) At least 30 girl students of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika School in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district have been hospitalised during the last 24 hours after they took ill. Although the exact cause was yet to be ascertained, officials said “unhygienic conditions” in the school led to the situation. The incident took place at the school in Devrika village in the district, some 250 km from Lucknow.

“After complaints of severe stomachache, vomiting and skin infection, the girls were admitted to the district hospital,” sub-divisional magistrate Kailash Singh told IANS over telephone Monday. An inquiry has been ordered, he said.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Schools are residential schools run through central government assistance for girls in rural areas. They are meant to encourage girls belonging to below poverty line families complete secondary education and join the mainstream, officials said.

The girls undergoing treatment in the district hospital have alleged that the food for them was being prepared in unhygienic conditions at the school. Also, the water stored for drinking purpose was not changed regularly, officials added.